US intel leak shakes Israel’s plan to hit Iran, and more

“Middle East Spectator,” is a pro-regime Telegram outlet based in Tehran, as all media channels based in Tehran are – by law. Last week, Middle East Spectator leaked two sensitive intelligence documents. The documents originated in the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the information pertained to Israel’s preparation to retaliate for Iranian missile attacks.

I have not re-published the documents leaked on Telegram. Interested readers can go to the link provided above.

Middle East Spectator claims it is an independent operation in Tehran. It says it got the documents from an “informed source in the US intelligence community.” If we take this at face value, then a source in the intelligence community contacted the Spectator and shared the two documents. To further clarify, in a subsequent post Spectator says the source was in the US Defense Department.

Because “news” and information in Iran are very tightly controlled, Spectator could only have published these documents with permission from the regime.

It is extraordinarily valuable material that Iran can, and likely will, use to prepare its defenses.

One of the two leaked documents is classified above top secret. That document is headlined as NOFORN which means that the document cannot be shared with foreign governments. Assuming that the documents were not shared with allies (such as theFive Eyes group, whose members have extraordinary access to US intelligence information), that information strengthens the claim made by the Spectator, that the leak came from United States persons or organizations.

The documents describe an Israeli “large force employment exercise” on October 15 and 16. The document was published on Telegraph by the Spectator on